OCHA Situation Report
North Caucasus
16 April - 15 May 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

I. HIGHLIGHTS
United Nations Aid Community Acts Following Znamenskoye Bombing

A bomb exploded in Znamenskoye, Chechnya, on 12 May, reportedly killing 60
people and injuring about 200. United Nations headquarters expressed
condolences to the Government of the Russian Federation and to the
families of the victims, noting that "acts of violence against innocent
civilians can only impede efforts to improve the living conditions and
security of the people in Chechnya." The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) sent two medical teams to visit the victims at Mozdok,
Znamenskoye, and Nadterechny hospitals and to take assistance in the form
of surgical kits. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provided medical
assistance to the wounded and delivered a dressing kit for 300 patients,
infusion sets, and antibiotics to hospitals in Znamenskoye and Mozdok.

Government Discusses 2002-2003 Reconstruction Programme for Chechnya

The Government Commission on Economic and Social Reconstruction of
Chechnya, chaired by the Federal Minister for Chechnya, Stanislav Ilyasov,
met on 25 April to discuss the results of the social and economic
reconstruction of Chechnya in 2002-2003. In particular, the commission
discussed the construction and reconstruction of municipal and private
housing, the reconstruction of the agricultural sector facilities, and
state assistance to Chechen residents, who had lost their property as a
result of hostilities in the republic. According to Ilyasov, in 2002, the
budget of the federal target programme of reconstruction of Chechnya
amounted to over RUR 4.7 billion (US$ 150 million). The Chechen
consolidated budget reached about RUR 7.4 billion (US$ 240 million).
Budget revenues increased 3.7 fold. In 2003, the government plans to
allocate approximately RUR 22.5 billion (US$ 720 million) to reconstruct
the social and economic sectors of Chechnya.

WHO Assesses Health Facilities in Grozny

On 24 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) carried out an assessment
and monitoring mission of selected health facilities and psychosocial
rehabilitation centres in Grozny. The main objectives of the visit were
to: assess the conditions and levels of provision of medical assistance in
selected health structures in Chechnya; monitor the operation of
WHO-supported psychosocial rehabilitation centres in Grozny; and carry out
a co-ordination meeting with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of
Chechnya to discuss future planning and implementation of joint WHO/MoH
programmes. The mission included visits to hospitals 9 and 3, three
psychosocial rehabilitation centres, and the Republican Orthopedics
Centre, supported by ICRC.

Arjan Erkel: International Community Calls for his Immediate Release

On 12 April, MSF issued a press release reporting, that according to
Russian investigators, Arjan Erkel, head of MSF mission in Dagestan,
abducted there in August 2002, is alive. However, his whereabouts or the
reasons for his detention remain unknown. According to MSF, "strong
political will from the highest Russian authorities is the only way to
bring about the safe release of Arjan." The organisation once again called
upon President Putin to use all his powers to help resolve this case
positively. Kidnappings of civilians including abductions of aid workers
are "heinous crimes, which paralyse the work of the aid community," the
press release says.

II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continued advocating with
the Ingush government the provision of alternative shelter for IDPs who do
not want to return to Chechnya in the event of IDP camps closure. The UN
position is that unless viable options for alternative shelter are
available, returns to Chechnya cannot be considered voluntary. This issue
was of particular concern for the UN against the background of indications
that that authorities may be intending to close camp B, where as of 23
April, 2,164 IDPs were registered in the database operated by the Danish
Refugee Council (DRC). The issue was raised at the meeting of UNHCR
Representative, Jozsef Gyorke, with the First Deputy Head of the Federal
Migration Service, Igor Yunash. The Russian authorities confirmed that
IDPs who do not want to return to Chechnya would be given an opportunity
to move to existing temporary settlements. Cooperation in permanent
relocation of IDPs inside Ingushetia was also discussed. From 12-14 May,
the UNHCR Representative travelled to Ingushetia to monitor the situation
with IDPs. He met representatives of local authorities to discuss the
alternative shelter problem. After the trip the UNHCR sent a letter on the
issue to the President of Ingushetia. In addition, UNHCR expressed concern
on criteria of de-registration of IDPs at a meeting with the Ingush
Migration Service (IMS), which continued de-registering IDPs in temporary
settlements. UNHCR and IMS agreed to form a working group to discuss
de-registration cases and procedures.

Food

The food basket for the on-going fourth cycle of relief distribution in
Chechnya and Ingushetia, which the World Food Programme (WFP) started in
mid-April, consisted of 10 kg of wheat flour and 0.15 kg of iodised oil.
The agency, together with its NGO partners, distributed some 1,730 MTs of
food commodities to about 268,500 beneficiaries. Of them, as many as
83,500 IDPs received basic food commodities in Ingushetia, and over
185,000 beneficiaries were provided with food aid through relief
distribution, food-for work, and school-feeding activities in Chechnya.

Shelter and Non-food Items

In April, the People in Need Foundation (PINF), a UNHCR implementing
partner, delivered to Grozny the remaining consignment of shelter
material, including 111m3 of timber and 29,550 roofing sheets, for the
beneficiaries of the UNHCR one-dry-room project, registered in 2002. The
distribution of construction materials will continue until mid-June.
Simultaneously, registration of new beneficiaries was taking place with up
to 50 applications daily.

Health

>From 16-18 April in Sochi, WHO organised a training course for 10
specialists from Chechnya and Ingushetia on the "Pharmacists' Role in
Managing Medicines." The aim of the course was to identify the
pharmacists' role in preparing disease- and consumer-based requests for
medicines in primary health care institutions and to train the
participants in applying the acquired knowledge in their routine practice.
Another ten medical workers from the two republics participated in a 5-day
training-of-trainers workshop on the WHO Integrated Management of
Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy. The newly trained specialists will be
able to train medical workers at the primary health care level in the
North Caucasus. In Chechnya, the UN Children's' Fund (UNICEF) distributed
12 cold boxes, 62 vaccine carriers, and about 4,000 cold elements to
immunisation centres of the third level under its Expanded Programme of
Immunisation. The agency continued supporting activities related to mother
and child health care and distributed medical supplies to the Republican
Childrens' Hospital and Infectious Diseases Hospital in Grozny, as well as
to NGOs implementing health programmes in Chechnya and Ingushetia. In
addition, UNICEF started disseminating through NGOs 80,000 leaflets in
support of its Mother Empowerment Programme in Ingushetia. The leaflets on
acute respiratory infections, control of diarrhoea diseases,
breastfeeding, and immunisation will be used for the promotion of better
child health care practices among the IDP population.

Education

In Ingushetia, all 58 IDP schools supported by UNICEF and operated by its
NGO partners were preparing for the forthcoming graduation examinations.
Additional classes were being organised for students who are lagging
behind, and teachers were assigned to assist these children to prepare for
the exams. In April, UNICEF supplied 6,300 additional textbooks and 2,800
methodology manuals to IDP schools to improve the quality of teaching and
learning. UNICEF was helping the Ministry of Education of Chechnya to
select the most vulnerable children in the NGO-run IDP schools in
Ingushetia to send them to a children's camp in the Karachai-Cherkess
Republic during summer holidays. The Ministry of Education of Chechnya
agreed to arrange for 450 IDP children's' stay in the camp for 24 days.
During the May holidays, Hilfswerk Austria (HWA), a UNICEF partner,
refurbished IDP schools. In addition, the NGO helped organise a wrestling
competition among IDP schools in B tent camp. Over 100 children in 16
weight categories participated in the tournament. Caritas Internationalis
(CI), another UNICEF NGO partner, continued running Child Friendly Spaces
(CFS) in Chechnya and kindergartens in Ingushetia, where about 1,000
children are enrolled. UNICEF assisted in the rehabilitation of a CFS
based in kindergarten 54 in Grozny, which allowed to increase its
accommodation capacity from 253 to 350 children.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF, together with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation (PHO),
continued providing potable water to hospitals, schools, and residents of
Grozny on a daily basis. The production capacity reached over 500 m3 per
day, enough to cover the needs of more than 30,000 people. The UNICEF
sanitation programme, carried out in cooperation with PHO and aimed at
hospital patients and children, provided for a garbage and sewage disposal
at school and hospital sites in Grozny. The garbage disposal capacity of
35 MTs maintained by one truck had become insufficient due to the increase
of the city population in the past months. Under the same programme the
construction of 15 latrines was completed at school and hospital sites.
UNICEF continued distributing basic hygienic items in Chechnya and
Ingushetia. In particular, in cooperation with HELP, a German NGO, it
started distributing 960,000 bars of soap to 40,000 IDPs in tent camps and
settlements in Ingushetia. In Chechnya, the agency provided about 120
litres of anti-parasite substance, 1,200 kg of chloramide powder, and over
22,000 bars of soap to hospitals inside Chechnya and NGOs carrying out
health programmes.

Mine Action*

Voice of the Mountains, a UNICEF partner, conducted 64 mine risk education
sessions for over 3,000 schoolchildren at Davydenko, Goity, and Katyr-Yurt
secondary schools in Chechnya and IDP schools in Ingushetia. The school
administration highly appreciated these activities, especially on the eve
of summer holidays, when children's awareness of the problem may prevent
mine-related accidents. Let's Save the Generation NGO took 240 IDP
children from Karabulak temporary settlements in Ingushetia to a drama
theatre in Vladikavkaz to watch UNICEF-sponsored mine risk education
performances. Similar performances will soon be organised in Chechnya. The
UNICEF/WHO-supported prosthetic centre in Vladikavkaz completed the
treatment of 3 child mine survivors, providing them with prosthesis and
orthopaedic shoes, as well as psychosocial assistance. In Chechnya, Minga
NGO distributed 10 UNICEF-provided wheelchairs among survivors of mine and
unexploded ordinance accidents. A UNICEF-supported football team of child
mine survivor was successfully participating in a youth tournament in
Grozny, supported by the Ministry of Culture of Chechnya.

On 24 April in Grozny, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of
Chechnya opened the reconstructed Republican Orthopedics Centre. ICRC
supplied equipment for the centre, as well as organised the training for
its personnel. Once the two-year training is completed, the centre will be
able provide prosthesis to over 300 patients a year.

* Mine action in this report refers to one or a combination of the
following activities: mine awareness, victim assistance, and vocational
training.

Produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA)
Tel: (7095) 956-6405; Fax: (7095) 956-6355; e-mail: Zotikova@un.org


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